Albany

Albany first announced itself at Windsor in August 2023, then came back to win again at Nottingham in October 2024 — a gap of over a year between victories that tells you this is a horse that takes time to find its best. The Nottingham win was 20 months ago now, and recent form has been patchy: a promising second, then a couple of modest efforts in fifth and sixth. That run of results will have the team at Kimpton working to understand what's needed to bring Albany back to winning form.

The yard behind Albany is worth paying attention to. Ralph Beckett's operation in Hampshire has sent out 107 winners already this season — that is a prolific training yard by any measure, the kind of place that knows how to get horses performing when it matters. Jockey Rob Hornby has taken the ride on Albany five times, winning once together for a 20% success rate, a 1-from-5 partnership that mirrors the horse's overall career numbers almost exactly.

Albany tends to race at Class 3 level — comfortably mid-tier in the British racing structure — and has won 1 of its 4 races there, a 25% win rate that is actually its best return at any single level. That is quietly encouraging. A horse that wins a quarter of its races at a particular class is one that belongs there and occasionally beats it. With Albany having raced just one day ago and still active, there will be more opportunities ahead to find out whether that Nottingham winning feeling can be rediscovered.